Conventional file systems do not record the context needed to search multimedia files based on the contents of the media. One important objective of MPEG7 is to provide a descriptor definition for meta data and content framework to facilitate content based search for multimedia data. While MPEG7 defines the descriptor, it does not specify the implementation of MPEG7 as a total storage system. With the advance of an iSCSI protocol which supports IP based storage area networks, integration of an MPEG7 descriptor with the iSCSI protocol can provide a location transparent data access interface for a distributed application to share multimedia data without having to write complex, distributed, communication codes in the application and file systems.
In accordance with the present invention, a resource manager transforms the MPEG7 descriptors into an active and composite storage, processing, and presentation component in a storage area network (e.g, iSCSI). The active component can enable a dynamic configuration of a media processing function after it is loaded in an execution environment. The data block is moved from the iSCSI interface directly into processing modules and presentation modules via decoder, buffer, and constraint control units.
Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.